It's been almost three days since that man from the winds appeared. By the way, his name was Obrion, if I remember correctly, but it sounded so sophisticated that I chose to call him the 'Man from the winds'. Honestly talking, my eyes literally popped out on seeing  someone appearing out of thin air but Millia later told me that it was a spirit transformation magic by which one can transform itself to any specific element. Arrhh!! I can never get my brain through all this magic stuff!! Yet in the end, what surprised me even more was when he knelt down in front of us and even addressed Zeo as 'Young Master'.

'Was I living with a prince all this time? ' I had thought but when I looked at Zeo he seemed no less surprised than me. So It wasn't something familiar to him either, I assumed. After some kind of explanation, the man gave about the assassination of a Clan leader and Zeo's father becoming the new Clan Leader, Zeo had been worried ever since. The level of his anxiety has surely decreased with time but it still persists even if he tries to hide it sometimes. It seems even with their magic, Elves are not good at hiding their feelings.

In our five days of stay here, Nathan and I have picked their own role for helpers as our gratitude to the brother-sister duo for their help. Nathan had chosen to help Millia with her medicines she used to sell in a village nearby. And he kind of enjoys the work too.

"Now, I have decided, if I am ever going back to the human world again I would like to become a doctor or a pharmacist, if possible. " He had once told me. 'At least this accidental journey was beneficial for someone' I had thought  at the comment. And finally, I had decided to help Zeo with his daily herb gatherings. We both were trying our best to fit in this strange and dangerous world. But, as obvious as it was, both me and Nathan were kind of missing our home, our daily boring routines and not to mention our families too. Though Nathan never mentioned the idea of going back to me directly, it was still visible in his lonely walks and silent stays. I knew what he was feeling and interestingly,  I also knew that he knew what I knew. We were kind of brothers, after all.

This morning after breakfast, we went to our daily jobs with Nathan helping Millia in her work while I went on with Zeo. I have been noticing that Zeo kind of enjoys my company. We went on talking all the way up and down. Well, time in itself is a protesting child, if you want it to be gentle, it paces with quick steps and when you want it to be fast it turns steadier than a snail. With me and Zeo it was the former one. He would talk about his strict father and his protective sister and how instead of all there stupid nagging and werid comments, he still loved. It was in those talks that I came to know that whom he called his father was actually his adoptive  father. His biological parents had left him the day he was born in this forest.

'How cruel would that have been on little Zeo?' I thought to myself with a bitter feeling. But Zeo in turn seemed quite neutral to the action of his biological parents. Maybe he had already accepted the fact that his real parents did not need him, or maybe he never even considered them his parents. In any case, he seemed fine.

His talks kind of reminded me of my father who was already lost in my old album of memories and even my mother who might be waiting for me back home.

But after The Man from the Winds or if your memories are sharper than mine, Obrion decided that he would accompany us to the forest, my talks with Zeo had been small and precise. As far as I had noticed, This Man from the Winds didn't like me much. He looked at me with perched eyes, filled with questions and suspicion, as if silently asking me why, how and what was a human like me doing with his Young Master. But he never dared to say anything. He had a dignified way of a servant, I suppose.

"What are we looking for, young master?" Obrion asked in our walking this time. 

"Shill flowers, Dazel leaves and Tros fruits." Zeo replied in a somewhat annoyed tone. Maybe he also didn't like Obrion following him around everywhere. Obrion either did not notice this annoyance or chose to ignore it.

Soon we reached the deepest parts of the forest. Zeo found the Shill flowers and Dazel leaves quite easily because they were lurking near the foot of pines but the case with the Tros fruits was not so easy. The tree stood different from the other pine trees. It was really tall, its top probably kissing the sky itself, while its thin branches holding the round, pink fruits we were looking for. I stared at Zeo with amazement.

" Can you really climb it? "I asked.

"For you...of course!!" He announced as he went on climbing the gigantic tree. This was a good pickup line. 

Obrion and I stood there, witnessing the grand show of talent in front of us. To be honest, Zeo was really vigorous and skilful in climbing the first few metres but then his body started giving up to its physical restraints. His speed was reduced by half till the time he climbed about five metres . I could see him sweating and puffing with tiredness .

Till the time he reached about eight metres, the fruits were in his reach. He took the support of a branch and reached for Tros fruit. Fortunately, he  got hold of one and waved it to me but unfortunately, the branch he was clinging to tore off from the stem like it was made of paper. I heard Zeo's cry and with his my cry came out like a natural alert:

" Zeo!! No!!". I closed my eyes hoping that not seeing the fate in front of me could alter the outcome.